Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-04-13
THE COERCION DEBATE
aesumed Yesterday in the British
House of Commons.


by Anslo-American cable to the Dieratch.l
LONDON, April 12.-The House Of
Commons resumed its sittings this Of
ternoon. After Speaker Peel had
thanked the House for its indulgence
during his illness Attorney-General
Holmes re6pened the debate on the
Governments side in favor OF the Irish
crimes act amendment bill. He con-
iended that the measure was fair aud
reasonable one and that none OF its pro-
visions would interfere with the consti-
tutional or infringe on public rights.
Right Hon. Hugh q. Childers sad
that although he supported the amend.
ment to the bill he admitted some of
the bills provisions would not be o5-
iectionable if they were made part OF
the general law for both Ireland ard
England; but these features of the
proposed law which the Government
especially intended to apply to Ireland
we're unwarranted, and would be
found to evoke disorder instead
Of remedying existing evils. Why
propose coercion when there was
10 increase of crime shown in
ireland? Before the last election at
least ninety Conservative members de-
clared against any further coercion.
Salisbury himself stated that it was i'm
practicable and impossible to reimpose
on Ireland any measure like the foimer
crimes act. The Government would
ioon Learn, should the present bill be-
come a law, how Disastrous was their
recourse to an old and Bad system OF
repression worse than ever now when
representatives of five sixths of the
IRISH people opposed the measure.
Mr.. Childers protested strongly
against giving the proposed powers to
resident magistrates whom he knew,
he said, would be unfit by reason OF
lack Of legal trimming to properly ex-
ercise them-espocially in cases inyoly-
ing the application of the extreme pro-
visions of the white-boy acts and the
legal construction of the word con-
spiracy. The proposal to try irish
prisoners in England was amongst
the worst features of the bill. What
would have been said if ever it had been
proposed TO send Englishmen to trial
out of their own country for crimes
committed in it? TParnellite cheers.
The speaker ridiculed the looseness OF
tie definitions contained in the bill,
end warned the Government that for
tits reason alone number of its clauses
would prove imperative.
There were not fifty members IN the
Eouse Of Commons tonight. The de-
bate on the crimes bill will go formally
until Thursday, when the House will fill
mp again. Mr.. Gladstone will revive
interest in Parliament by speaking on
friday. The Government is anxious
to reach q second reading of the crimes
bill without resorting to closure, and
Will not insist on a division before the
2sd instant. Speaker Peel has int
mated to Gladstone that il the head OF
the Government demands closure after
reasonable period of debate he will
always deem it his duty to acquiesce,
ard that this rule will apply to any Gov
eminent, Tory or Liberal.
Redmond argued that Ireland was
now quieter than at any time in the
last half-century. He said there was
less boycotting now than in 1885, when
the Conservative Government ab..n-
doned coercion.
Henry Matthews (Home Secretary,
while admitting that the bill was nos
based upon the abnormal amount OF
crime, advised the opposition not to
press that argument too faf, because
statistics in the possession of the Gov
eminent showed that sgrarian crime
bad increased 50 per cent. since Octo-
her